Backstop for bowling alleys



J. ZUERCHER BAGKSTOP FOR .BOWLIENG ALLEYS Dec. 10, 1957 Original FiledMarch 22, 1982 INVENTOR JOHN ZUERCHER ATIJORNEY United States PatentOfifice 2,815,954 Patented Dec. 10, 1 957 BACKSTOP FOR BOWLING ALLEYSJohn Zuercher, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to American Machine and FoundryCompany, a corporation of New Jersey 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-53) Thisinvention relates to bowling alley apparatus, and more particularly toan improved backstop or cushion for use in the pit of a bowling alleyfor absorbing the shock of impact of bowling balls, and stopping thelongitudinally rearward travel of balls in the alley pit.

This invention constitutes a division of my copending application S. N.277,991, filed March 22, 1952, for Pin Curtain for Pinspotter.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved backstop orcushion for use in the pit of a bowling alley.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel resilientlymounted backstop for use in the pit of a bowling alley, wherein thebackstop is mounted for operation in a novel manner to more eflicientlyabsorb the shock of impact of balls and/or pins striking it, therebymore efliciently controlling the movement of balls and/or pins in thepit.

With these and objects not specifically mentioned in view, the inventionconsists in certain combination and constructions which will behereinafter fully described, and then set forth in the claim hereuntoappended.

The accompanying drawing is an isometric view illustrating a preferredform of the invention shown in conjunction with a verticallyreciprocating pinspotter table suspended over the alley bed and aresilient backstop S mounted in pit P of a bowling alley A.

The pit curtain embodying the invention and designated generally C,extends transversely across pit P of bowling alley A in front of andspaced from backstop or cushion S. Curtain C is formed of a sheet offlexible material such as rubber, or canvas, laminated rubber andcanvas, or any suitable fabric or sheet material which is strong anddurable and can stand flexing without breaking or tearing. A leathercurtain has been found to give satisfactory results. In the illustratedembodiment, the upper end 4 of pit curtain C is secured to a horizontalrod 6, the ends of which are supported in arms 8, swingably mounted onsuitable studs projecting from and held by vertical frame members 12 ofa vertically reciprocating pin spotter table T. This table may be of thesame type and construction as that disclosed in co-pending application,Serial No. 180,174, filed by Holloway et al. August 18, 1950, now PatentNo. 2,781,195, issued February 12, 1957, and since it forms no specificpart of the invention, further description and showing thereof aredeemed unnecessary.

Table T is supported at each side for movement to and from alley A by apair of connecting and supporting rods 14, the upper ends of which arepivoted to a pair of crank arms 16 mounted on a horizontal shaft 18rotated by suitable means (not shown) in proper timed relation with therest of the machine (not shown). For simplicity of illustration, onlyone rod 14 and crank arm 16 are shown.

A pair of guide rods 20, each pivoted at one end to stationary framemembers 22 of the machine, and at their other ends pivoted to a suitablebracket 24 attached to table T frame members 12, are provided to guidetable T during its vertical movement and also to main tain it in asubstantially horizontal plane at all times, Guide rods 20 also tend toprevent side sway of the table due to the manner in which they extendfrom the table frame 12 at an outward angle. Arms 8 extend rearwardlyand above guide rods 20 and rest loosely thereon. This provides aflexible and movable support for the upper end of pit curtain 'C, suchthat when table T is in its up position, curtain C is taut. When thuspositioned, it is located in operative position, and any flying pinsstriking it will be deflected downwardly into the pit. In this mannerpins are prevented from flying upwardly and over the backstop intooperative machine parts. So also pins are prevented from flying backonto the gutters or in front of the pin supporting deck of a bowlingalley from which they must be removed either manually or by mechanismprovided for that purpose. When, however, table T is lowered forrespotting purposes, not shown herein or described in detail, curtain Cflexes downwardly or moves downwardly further into the pit, dependingupon whether it hangs freely from rod 6, or is anchored by straps 32, asshown in the drawing.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated herein, aboutone-third of the distance from the bottom edge 26 of the curtain, thereis provided a transverse sleeve or pocket 28 which carries a horizontalrod or tube 30. Straps 32, attached to the upper portion of backstopbacking plate 34, hold the lower portion of curtain C so that the majorupper portion thereof forms a resilient, upwardly inclined or angularsheet or wall in front of and above backstop S. Therefore, thearrangement of the curtain is such that when a ball is thrown and pinsfly about the pit, they tend to strike the curtain and are deflecteddownwardly into the pit and are thus prevented from damaging thespotting table T or knocking down standing pins or flying up the alley.In the drawing, broken line arrow R indicates the path a flying pinmight take into pit P. Full line arrow F indicates the path this pin,deflected by curtain C, takes into pit P. The dotted lines Kn indicatesthe pin after being deflected by said curtain into the pit P.

Backstop S consists of a board or sheet 38 such as rubber, canvas orfiber extending transversely across the rear end of the pit and mountedon a transverse backing plate 34 suitably attached to a pair of arms 40fulcrumed on a horizontal shaft 42 supported on each end by suitablebearing brackets (not shown) which may be conveniently attached to theframe structure 22 secured to the kickbacks B of the alley. Eachbackstop supporting arm 40 is provided with an extension 44. To the freeend of each extension 44 is pivotally connected one end of a suitableshock absorber 46. The other end of each shock absorber 46 is attachedto a bracket 48 secured to the machine frame 22. In the drawing, onlyone shock absorber 46 and bracket 48 are shown, it being understood thatan identical arrangement is used for the extension 44 at the right ofFig. 1. This arrangement provides a controlled resiliency for thebackstop, and minimizes bouncing of the bowling balls after hitting saidbackstop.

The invention above described may be varied in construction within thescope of the claim, for the particular embodiments selected toillustrate the invention are but a few of the possible concrete formswhich my invention may assume. The invention, therefore, is not to berestricted to the precise details of the structures shown and described.

What I claim is:

In combination in a bowling alley for use with automatic pinsettingapparatus, a pit disposed at the end of the playing bed of the alley, abackstop member dis- 3 posed in said pit and extending transverselythereacross adjacent the end of the playing bed, and supporting andshock absorbing means operatively connected to said backstop member andso constructed as to leave the space in the pit behind said backstopmember free to be occupied b'yother bowling alley equipmenhsaidsupporting and shock absorbing means comprising two downwardly extendinglever arms spaced transversely of said pit and having their lower endportions attached to said backstop member, means disposed above saidbackstop member and mounting said lever arms for pivotal motionforwardly andrearwardly with respect to said pit, at least one of saidlever arms being provided with an extension combining with such leverarm to form a bell crank,

said exte'nsion being disposed above said backstop member, and shockabsorbing means mounted adjacent said extension above said backstopmember and operatively connected to said extension to oppose pivotalmotion of said extension resulting when said backstop member swingsrearwardly of the pit under impact of a ball or bowling pin entering thepit from the alley bed.

References Cited in the file of this patent Hackert Oct. 6, 1953

